EBRD and EU help improve sustainability of transportation through Transcaspian Corridor

• EBRD lends €35 million to Kazakhstan’s port of Aktau
• Project is also expected to benefit from EU grant of up to €10 million
• Investment will enable major Caspian Sea port to double its container-handling capacity

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is contributing to the optimisation of international transport routes by supporting upgrades of key port infrastructure in Kazakhstan. A financial package of up to €45 million provided by the EBRD and the European Union will finance an increase in cargo handling capacity at the port of Aktau, Kazakhstan’s primary maritime gateway, located on the Caspian Sea. Aktau Port was identified as one of the key elements of the Transcaspian Corridor by the EBRD-led and EU-funded study on sustainable transport connections between Europe and Central Asia.

The financial package consists of an EBRD loan of up to €35 million and a potential investment grant of up to €10 million under the EU’s Asia Pacific Investment Facility. The funds will finance and the extension of two berths and the acquisition of weather-resilient ship-to-shore cranes to expand the handling capacity for container cargo, which has increased by 121 per cent year on year so far in 2025.

These enhancements will allow the port to double its container handling capacity and to operate two fully dedicated container berths, each with separate trans-shipment lines. Handling time per container is expected to decrease from the current average of four minutes to just 2½ minutes.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said: “Together with the EU we are supporting this project because it meets our strategic objectives for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It is also part of the global transport and logistics infrastructure solutions covered by the EU Global Gateway initiative. Our funds will help to address a key infrastructure bottleneck along the Transcaspian Corridor.”

The project will contribute to the investment programme of the port of Aktau, which is owned by the national welfare fund Samruk-Kazyna and managed by Kazakhstan Railways. Its aims include the development of the largest container terminal in the Caspian region by the end of 2026 that is expected to process up to 240,000 twenty-foot equivalent units annually.

The EBRD has invested more than €10 billion across 340 projects in Kazakhstan, with most of the funds supporting private entrepreneurship.